The Italina builder Bellini has been in business since the 1950s and was a rival to Riva in the classic Lake Garda-style speedboat market. But, the company ceased building in new boats in 1973 when the founder fell ill and had to retire.
Fifty years later the founder’s son and nephew, who are running the Bellini boat yard, made the move to start building new boats again. Their first design, the Bellini Astor 36, came out in 2023. This is the first time a Bellini design has appeared in Cruising Odyssey since the company has kept production to a minimum.
The 36 Astor is a walk-around, center-consol day-boat and weekender that fits into the Italian genre with Pardo and Solaris. The main theme of the design is to provide vast sunning areas and stunning performance combined with Italian design brio.
The look of the 36 Astor is neo-classic futurism, a curvaceous blend of sweet lines, sculpted decks, a stylish cabin top and a handsome, traditional flared bow.
The cockpit has a large dinette that converts to a spacious sunbed. The bulwarks on both sides fold down electrically to create a wide-open beach-front platform. Demountable lifelines can be fitted to the platforms to keep children from racing headlong off the edges.
The helm area under the hard top is fairly compact due to the wide side decks but this is not supposed to be a social area. All of that is aft and in the expansive foredeck lounge.
The builder has managed to shoehorn quite a lot of living space into the cabin area. There’s a private cabin forward with a full queen-size berth. There a second sleeping area with twin berths behind the companionway steps. There is an enclosed head and shower. And, there a counter with a micro-wave oven, fridge and freezer boxes and space to prepare light meals.
Like most builders today Bellini offers the 36 Astor with multiple power packages. You can go with twin Volvo gas powered 350s, twin Volvo diesel D4s or even twin 400-horsepower Mercury outboards. You can expect cruising speeds in the 30s and a top end over 40 knots.
As the present generation of Bellinis get their boat building feet under them, they have the 36 Astor, a new 58 Astor that was launched at Cannes last year and a new 68 footer in the works.
One could wonder where the brand name Astor came from but if the company has designs on the British and North American markets, using the name of a famous tycoon and yachting family from the Gilded Age makes sense.
